CHARLOTTE — In a situation where one of their signature 10-play drives would have salted away a narrow victory, one game-breaking play did the trick for the Atlanta Falcons in their 31-23 comeback win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon.

Rookie Julio Jones, who had been suffering through a rough day—he caught only one of the first six passes thrown his way—snagged a throw over the middle from quarterback Matt Ryan, slipped a would-be tackler and sprinted for the end zone to complete a 75-yard touchdown that helped boost the Falcons’ lead to eight points with 4:17 left in the game.

Instead of nickel-and-diming the Panthers, as would normally be the team’s M.O. in that scenario, the Falcons went for the big play.

“We got a look where we felt like we had a good matchup with Julio on the back side,” Ryan said. “It was the first time we’d had a clean look at it, and it was something we had talked about for a while. We finally got that look, called the play and Julio did a great job.”

That play—the second of the drive—took exactly 11 seconds from snap to score, a far cry from Atlanta’s first touchdown drive of the game (10 plays, 62 yards, 5:26 off the clock) or the previous touchdown drive (10-90-4:24).

Nobody does the ball-control drive better than the Falcons; since 2008, they’ve rattled off an NFL-best 135 drives of 10 plays or more. The formula rarely changes—power runs by tailback Michael Turner, quick hits from quarterback Matt Ryan to wideout Roddy White and short third-down receptions by tight end Tony Gonzalez. It’s an efficient way to chew up clock, especially when the Falcons are leading.

But over the past couple of seasons, the Falcons lacked an explosive element to their offense. So they focused on that in the draft, paying a heavy cost to move up from the No. 27 pick in the first round to the No. 6 slot to draft Jones. Then, they took Oregon State tailback Jacquizz Rodgers, another big-play option, in the fifth round.

That investment paid off on Sunday, as Jones had two second-half touchdown catches and Rodgers had a 31-yard TD reception in the third quarter. “All year, I think we’ve certainly made strides in that department,” Ryan said. “We’ve been able to make some of those plays we’ve wanted to make. I think the addition of those two rookies, Jacquizz and Julio, has certainly helped in that respect.”

It hasn’t always been an easy transition to the NFL for Jones, but performances like this one were why the Falcons coveted the big-play receiver from Alabama.

“I think Julio showed today the skill set that we all envisioned,” Atlanta coach Mike Smith said. “He’s had a very good season. He’s going to be scrutinized, but it was a great bounce-back game today for us and for Julio individually.”

Jones’ big second half—the 75-yard touchdown and a 17-yard score that put the Falcons ahead 24-23 with 12:42 remaining—came at an absolutely crucial time for Atlanta. A loss to the Panthers would have left the Falcons at 7-6 and put them in the position to rely on outside help to make the playoffs.

And on the heels of a crushing loss at Houston last week, the Falcons would have been moving rapidly in the wrong direction. At 8-5, though, they control their postseason destiny, with a home game Thursday against Jacksonville, followed by a Monday night game at New Orleans and a season-ending home game against Tampa Bay.

“The way everybody approached it, the way I approached it, was that this was the first of four legs,” Ryan said. “We’ve knocked that first one out, and now we’ve got to move on.”